Medway Messenger, 24th December 2003

From purveyor of the nation’s underwear to moral pariahs, it didn’t take Marks and Spencer long to descend into the sewer.

In our house we don’t see much Magic And Sparkle about them this Christmas. For so long they wouldn’t accept credit cards. Yet they recently launched their own ‘&More’ credit card, using highly unethical practices.

My wife is an M&S Chargecard holder. We heard they were sending out their new credit card unsolicited to chargecard holders. The Office of Fair Trading warned them the scheme had to be opt-in, not opt out.

Since Debbie hadn’t received her credit card she phoned Marks to say she didn’t want one. No problem, they said. Guess what? They sent her one.

She complained, telling them she had cut up the card and might even cancel her chargecard in protest. Guess what? They sent her a PIN number.

She complained again. Guess what? They sent her a £5000 credit limit and transferred her chargecard balance to the credit card.

Eventually they cancelled the credit card and reinstated the chargecard. In neither of the two letters Marks have sent her has she had an apology, rather she has had smug assertions that they followed accepted banking practice. Well, it isn’t acceptable to us.

Why do we feel so strongly? Because in an area like Medway, and in the run-up to Christmas, the &More Credit Card will be the &More Debt Card. The one thing we’ll take from Christmas into the New Year won’t be peace and goodwill to all, it will be a bill that takes until next December to repay.

The apostle Paul had some wise counsel: ‘Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another.’

But we have bought into the lifestyle proclaimed in a T-shirt slogan: ‘Whoever has the most toys wins.’ Are we so drained of spiritual values that possessions are the only way in which we feel loved or valued? Another T-shirt reminds us: ‘Whoever has the most toys still dies.’

This Christmas, let’s centre our celebrations on Jesus who was born into poverty, who never owned a home, who relied on the generosity of friends. Yet he has given us vastly more than a Sky+ box or a Segway scooter. In his coming we discover God’s sacrificial love.

His gift is eternal life. Beat that for Magic And Sparkle.

[ Home ] [ Up ] [ About Me ] [ Articles ] [ Kulcha ] [ Links ] [ Musings ] [ Sermons'R'Us ] [ Search ]

Copyright © David D Faulkner, 2006 except where other sources are attributed or noted as inspiration.